A broad smile spreads across the faces of Martyn Sibley and Srin Madipalli when asked where they were when they decided to launch an online lifestyle magazine for disabled people. "On the beach," they respond in tandem. "We've both travelled a lot but we wanted a real adventure," Sibley says of the California road trip during which Disability Horizons was conceived. The fact that they were doing something so exciting made it the perfect time to embark upon an ambitious joint project, he adds.

Sibley, whose professional background is in marketing, has been writing his own blog since 2009 "about what I got up to, everyday stuff about living with disability", he says. He describes how while "wandering on the beach together" Madipalli suggested branching out beyond a one-person blog. "Some people had guest-blogged on my site, then Srin came up with the idea [to] create a new, separate publication for anyone else who wants to write without having to set up their own website – to give them a platform to share their knowledge and their experience".

The pair, both in their 20s, say they wanted to produce something "positive and inspiring" that would depict the lives of disabled people as they actually were. They were especially keen to produce something that showed young disabled people "what it was possible to do with their lives", says Sibley.

In less than a year, Disability Horizons has accumulated a roster of more than 50 regular contributors and attracted a reader base of more than 20,000 people, more than a third of whom are in the US.

Sense of belonging

As far as planning the magazine went, they deliberately steered away from making it political or issue-led as they felt other magazines were already articulating the political and policy debates impacting on disabled people's lives. Serious issues such as access to benefits are covered in Disability Horizons, Sibley adds, but without being a dominant theme. "I think we were aware that there was a niche for positivity and practicality. A lot of people gravitated to that because they felt a belonging. We had emails early on from other disabled people saying, 'This is what we've been looking for.'"

Sibley and Madipalli have spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disease that causes progressive muscle wasting and loss of movement. They are wheelchair users and have been good friends since growing up in London and Cambridge. Listening to them banter, it makes perfect sense that their shared optimistic outlook has spilled over into the magazine. The site covers topics ranging from books and travel to clubbing and photography. "It's definitely an eclectic mix," Madipalli says.

The kind of articles that people have submitted since the online magazine first launched in spring last year, include an article by a young disabled man about his sexual exploits on a trip to Las Vegas, which "really struck a chord", according to Sibley, who says it illustrated the fact that some subjects involving disability remain stubbornly taboo.

"I think relationships and sex is a taboo and yet it's something that really matters to disabled people," he says. Madipalli nods in agreement: "If it's a taboo then it probably should be talked about."

Once Madipalli had built a basic website, they set about learning how to edit. "We were awful at it," Madipalli admits, laughing. As the months passed they recruited volunteers to help and, thanks to a New York-based design firm that Sibley had come into contact with via his blog, they were able to update the site and increase the volume of content it could accommodate. Social networking sites were used as the magazine's "primary marketing tools" and a catalyst for finding audiences, Sibley explains.

For all their talk of projecting positive representations of disability, Sibley and Madipalli balk slightly at being described as self-consciously inspiring. "From the bigger picture perspective, it's important that young people have role models that aren't just movie stars and Paralympians but are everyday role models," says Sibley. "I'm very happy to be called an everyday role model."

He says the ultimate goal of the magazine is "to counterbalance" the negative or patronising publicity about disability within mainstream media. "I guess you get extremes. Either it's the triumph over tragedy or the benefit fraud, scapegoating stuff. There's not as much in the middle."

However, if Madipalli and Sibley are comfortable showcasing affirmative messages around disability, they insist the intention is never to gloss over the real difficulties. "We have high support needs ourselves," Sibley says. "We know the barriers people face." Both admit their awareness of disability rights came relatively recently. "I've always seen [my disability] as something I have and will have till the end of my days, and I just have to make the most out of it," adds Madipalli. "I never saw it as a political issue. It was just about day-to-day life. It was so integral."

Sibley says his grasp of disability rights activism was honed when he began working in the fundraising department of the charity Scope in his early 20s, when he "became very aware of the oppression" endured by many disabled people. There have been some harsh lessons along the way, too. Their overtly positive approach to publishing has not been without its critics. Even when he was just blogging, Sibley says there was occasional disapproval from some disability rights campaigners anxious to drum home the issue of broader discrimination. "They would say things like, 'Oh it's all right for you to be positive. You have a job.'"

Both Madipalli and Sibley say it has been a steep learning curve engaging with disability campaigners and that, fundamentally, they believe that whatever the method of "disseminating" it, the message is inherently the same: that disabled people deserve respect and the resources to live their lives to the fullest.

Future growth

So what of the future? Their day jobs come first (Madipalli is a junior solicitor in the City and Sibley runs a range of e-business ventures) and so far the magazine has been a hobby. But they know it may grow. One option could be to turn it into a social enterprise and raise outside financing, they suggest. They are already extending beyond the magazine. "It's not just the articles. There are things that can spin off from it as well. We hold meet-ups, for example. And I've got an e-course coming up called Inspiring Employment," says Sibley.

But they insist that whatever happens, the spirit of Disability Horizons would stay true to their vision of providing a space for positive messages around disability.

"If I was to say where we would ideally want to be in a couple of years; it would be read all over the world by disabled people, friends of, family of, and that they can take something away that helps change the world around disability," Sibley says. Madipalli nods in agreement.